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14.00 hrs – Ganesh joined us at the Cotton Green Railway station. After exchanging the pleasantries, he asked us what we want to see in Mumbai and the first response from Mythri was shopping. The funny part is that while Mythri meant the proper street shopping, Ganesh mistook it for a grand shopping at the posh malls of Mumbai 😀 . And we ended at one of the posh malls in Mumbai – The Phoenix Mall at lower Parel. It was designed so well and got exclusive sections for everything and especially the collection of watches at this place is amazing!

14.30 hrs – We were out of the place as finally Mythri told her idea of shopping to Ganesh. Lol! 😀 . Before leaving the place, we wanted to eat something and that something is obviously the must try in Mumbai! Street food in India is as varied as its landscape, people and culture. It is usually sold on cards on the roads of various parts of the country and in Mumbai, try the famous Vada Pav and Pav Bhaji 🙂 . Just opposite to the mall, there are so many carts on the pavement selling the Vada Pav, Pav Bhaji and other Chinese food. While Ganesh and Mythri opted Vada Pav, Ryan and I voted for Pav Bhaji.

One urban legend states that the famous Pav Bhaji has Portuguese origins and that the word Pav comes from the Portuguese word for bread, Pao! Pav Bhaji consists of two things. One is the Pav, which is nothing but a kind of bread, and Bhaji which is a thick gravy prepared from all the vegetables with some spices added to it. A must try delicacy when one is in Mumbai! And to our surprise, the cost of the street food here is relatively cheaper than other places I visited.

15.30 hrs – We took a Kaali Billi (Black Cat), the black painted cars which acts as the local auto-rickshaws in Mumbai and headed to the Victoria terminus. Our next destination is the Fashion Street. And the route we took to reach this place is through the Azad Maidan (Ground). Azad Maidan is a triangular shaped cricket ground located near to the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station and is one of the oldest grounds in India. While the youngsters were busy with their net practice and some matches, the hawkers were busy selling pani-puris and clothes on the pavement.

Just at the end of the pavement starts the Fashion Street – one of the favorite shopping hubs for the people of Mumbai. This place with over 150 shops selling clothes and footwear of latest trends and few food stalls is a paradise for the shopaholics. The success mantra at this shopping hub is a hard bargain. And trust me, one can get some very good products at a very cheaper rate. We walked across almost all the stalls, while Mythri bought a trendy frock and gladiators, I bought a hand-bag for my mom 🙂 . Done with our shopping, we started walking towards the Gateway of India.

17.00 hrs – While we were walking towards the Gateway of India, we came across one of the famous landmarks of Mumbai – the Bombay Gymkhana. Located in the South Mumbai, it was established in the year of 1875 and lies in the southern end of the Azad Maidan. Said to be one of the posh gymkhanas, it is a centralized air-conditioned building with all latest models of cars parked just infront of it. Don’t forget to fight with the security guards at the entrance for a single snap at the entrance of this hi-fi gymkhana.

17.45 hrs – Tired of shopping, it’s time for some juice and we started searching for a juice corner and it so happened that my eyes got to see the famous Cafe of Mumbai – the “Cafe Mondegar”. Situated at about 500 meters from the Gateway of India, Cafe Mondegar is a very famous landmark of Mumbai. To be frank, I don’t know how famous this cafe is, nor doesn’t even know that it’s famous first of all 😉 . It’s just a random choice and we walked into it. Now, why is this cafe so famous? Coz, this is the first restaurant in Mumbai to house a jukebox 🙂 .

Cafe Mondegar is famous in other ways too – it was started way back in 1932, the famous Indian Cartoonist and painter from Goa, Mario De Miranda painted his cartoons all over the walls and ceilings of this restaurant. The restaurant offers some amazing continental food. Food and Jukebox – What a superb combo! 🙂 🙂 Though they say that photography is strictly prohibited, I got few snaps of it 😉 :-p